Method for producing cultured root of purple ginseng

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a novel method for processing a cultured root of purple wild ginseng for increasing saponin content and to the cultured root of the purple wild ginseng which is processed thereby. The present invention can provide the cultured root of wild ginseng having significantly higher content of a specific ginsenoside, and can increase the productivity and economic efficiency by simplifying the production process.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2011-0020355, filed on Mar. 8, 2011 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0030577, filed onApr. 4, 2011 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2011-0085253, filed on Aug. 25, 2011 in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office and Korean Patent Application No.10-2011-0119040, filed on Nov. 15, 2011 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a novel method for processing acultured root of wild ginseng for increasing a certain saponin content.

BACKGROUND

A wild ginseng, called as a scientific name of Panax schinseng NESS, issimilar to a ginseng, but it is formed with a slightly different gene.The pharmacological effects of a wild ginseng are significantly superiorto those of a ginseng, but due to its rarity there is a great limitationin the study and utilization thereof. However, recently, due to adevelopment of cell culture techniques, a wild ginseng cell can becultured to study or utilize the wild ginseng.

An effective ingredient of a wild ginseng is known as a ginsenoside andits main pharmacological effects are known to have numerousphysiological activities including an immunological enhancement action,an antidiabetic action, a recovery from fatigue, an anti-stress action,a brain activity promotion effect, a nerve cell protection action, ablood circulation promotion action, a sexual dysfunction improvementaction, a central nervous inhibitory action, a ditoxication effect, aplatelet aggregation inhibitory action, particularly anticancer andcancer treatment.

On the other hand, when such a ginseng is processed, a ginsenosidecontent is mostly increased. A method for processing such a ginsenggenerally comprises repeatedly steaming and drying the ginseng severaltimes under a high condition of over 100° C. However, in such cases,since the steaming and drying must be repeated several times and theymust continuously satisfy with a complicated condition of preparation,they may bring about reduction in the productivity and economicefficiency of the preparation process. Further, there is a problem thata content of an effective ginsenoside ingredient contained in theprocessed ginseng is not substantially increased.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

Thus, the present invention has been designed in order to resolve theproblems encountered with prior arts as mentioned above. The purpose ofthe present invention is to provide a novel method for producing acultured root of purple wild ginseng which can process a cultured rootof wild ginseng rather than a ginseng to obtain various kinds ofginsenoside ingredients in a high content.

Technical Solution

In order to accomplish the above mentioned purpose, the presentinvention provides a method for producing a cultured root of wildginseng with an increased content of ginsenoside Rg3, Rh2, Rg2 and Rh1which comprises a first step(i) of introducing a cultured root of driedwild ginseng or its powder in a closed high pressure steamer, addingthereto a water within a range of about 1/50˜ 1/100 of the volume ofcontainer equipped in the steamer and then conducting a first heating ata temperature of 80˜100° C. for 10˜48 hours under a high pressurecondition of 1.5˜2 bar.

The production method according to the present invention furthercomprises a second step (ii) of conducting the heating and drying at atemperature of 100˜500° C. for 10˜48 hours in a state of maintaining thehigh pressure condition of the above first step(i).

The production method according to the present invention comprises,preferably, conducting the first step or the second step in a state ofmaintaining the condition of the step(i) and then 1˜10 times repeatedlyconducting the first step, the second step, or both the first and secondsteps.

Also, the present invention provides a method for producing a culturedroot of wild ginseng with an increased content of ginsenoside Rg3, Rh2,Rg2 and Rh1 which comprises 1˜10 times repeatedly conducting a secondstep (ii) of introducing a cultured root of dried wild ginseng or itspowder in a closed high pressure steamer, adding thereto a water withina range of about 1/50˜ 1/100 of the volume of a container equipped inthe steaming machine and then heating and drying them at a temperatureof 100˜500° C. for 10˜48 hours under a high pressure condition.

In the present invention, the high pressure steaming machine ispreferably equipped with a safety pin of maintaining a pressure in orderto prevent a damage of the container.

The cultured root of dried wild ginseng preferably has less than 5% ofwater content.

In the above first and second steps, a range of temperature, a volume ofwater added, and a range of high voltage are not limited to the abovementioned range and they can variously control depending on the desireduse.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a cultured root of purplewild ginseng produced by the above mentioned method. The cultured rootof wild ginseng prepared has as many as about 300 times more increasedcontent of ginsenoside Rg3 as compared with a wild ginseng as shown inthe attached tables and also can produce various kinds of ginsenosideingredients in a large quantities by controlling the temperature andpressure.

Advantageous Effects

The present invention can increase productivity and economic efficiencyof a wild ginseng by simplifying the production process and provide anovel method for processing a cultured root of purple wild ginseng witha significantly increased content of a certain ginsenside ingredient.

The cultured root of wild ginseng produced according to the presentinvention contains various kinds of saponin ingredients in a higherquantity, as compared with a cultured root of general wild ginseng or acultured root of wild ginseng processed by a conventional method.Accordingly, when the above cultured root of wild ginseng or asupplementary health food containing the cultured root are taken, it ispossible to show various pharmacological efficacies due to a highcontent of Rg2+Rh1 (brain function activation), Rg3 (cancer cellmetastasis inhibitor) and Rh2 (cancer therapeutic agent) and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows an analysis and test report of ginsenoside ingredients ofthe cultured root of wild ginseng produced in Example 1.

FIG. 2 shows an analysis and test report of ginsenoside ingredients ofthe cultured root of wild ginseng produced in Example 2.

FIG. 3 shows an analysis and test report of ginsenoside ingredients ofthe cultured root of wild ginseng produced in Example 3.

FIG. 4 shows an analysis and test report of ginsenoside ingredients ofthe cultured root of wild ginseng produced in Example 4.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the present invention is described in more detail.

The method according to the present invention is characterized byprocessing a cultured rood of wild ginseng with a water vapor under highpressure and high heat, instead of several times repeatedly steaming andprocessing a conventional ginseng under an atmospheric pressurecondition.

Through such processing, the present invention can significantlyincrease a content of a certain gensenoside (e.g., Rh1, Rg3, Rh2, etc.)by hydrolyzing a conventional ginsenoside (e.g., Rg1) contained in thecultured root of wild ginseng and then newly synthesizing effectiveingredients of other ginsenoside using the decomposed gensenoside andthe ingredients of cultured root itself (please refer to Table 1 andFIGS. 1 through 4).

In one embodiment of the novel method for producing the cultured root ofwild ginseng according to the present invention, the cultured root ofdried wild ginseng and water are introduced in a high pressure steamingmachine, and then heated and dried while maintaining a high pressurestate if possible. In a more preferred embodiment, the following threemethods can be illustrated. However, the invention is not limited onlyto these methods.

1) First Embodiment

The first embodiment of the method for producing the cultured root ofwild ginseng according to the present invention comprises introducingthe cultured root of dried wild ginseng or its powder in a closed highpressure steaming machine, adding a water within a range of about 1/50˜1/100 of the volume of a container equipped in the above steamer, andthen conducting a first heating at a temperature of 80˜100° C. for 10˜48hours under a high pressure of 1.5˜2 bar.

The cultured roots of wild ginseng used in the present invention referto cultured roots of ginseng produced by tissue-culturing a wild ginsengunder a certain condition, but are not limited to these. The culturedroots of wild ginseng itself and the cultured roots of processed wildginseng which are conventionally known in the art can be used, and theseinclude a wild ginseng and a cultivated wild ginseng.

The ginseng origin used in the tissue cultivation of the cultured rootsof wild ginseng is not particularly limited. As one example, theginsengs which are originally from Korea, the United States, Japan,Himalaya, Vietnam and China can be used.

Non-limiting examples of the cultured roots of wild ginseng which can beused herein include a living body of a cultured root of wild ginseng, apowder of a cultured root of wild ginseng, a concentrate of a culturedroot of wild ginseng and so on. In the present invention, the powder ofthe cultured root of wild ginseng is mainly used. In addition, any of awhite ginseng, a fresh ginseng, a red ginseng and the like which arecommercially available in the art can be used in the practice of thepresent invention.

When the cultured root of wild ginseng contains a large amount ofmoisture, it is difficult to pressurize the same under the abovementioned high pressure condition. Therefore, the cultured root of driedwild ginseng is preferred. As one example, the cultured root of driedwild ginseng has preferably less than 5% of moisture content.

Further, the amount of the cultured root of wild ginseng used is notparticularly limited. As one example, it is preferable to use it withina range of less than 1/10 of the volume of the container.

In the present invention, the high pressure steaming machine refers toan equipment of adding a certain pressure condition and steaming acultured root of wild ginseng. The high pressure steaming machineincludes a container capable of receiving the cultured root of wildginseng under a certain high pressure condition. Non-limiting examplesof the container which can be used herein include a silver container,earthenware, a glass container, a ceramic container, a harmless metalcontainer and the like. Using earthenware with high germanium contenttogether is preferred.

Water used together with the cultured root of wild ginseng prevents fromexcessively increasing a water vapor pressure in a high pressuresteaming machine, and the cultured root of wild ginseng dried in thecontainer absorbs moisture. In view of these, water can be used within arange of 1/50 to 1/100 of the volume of the container in which thecultured root of wild ginseng is introduced. By controlling the heatingtemperature in a closed container, a pressure resulting from the watervapor pressure in the container can be controlled.

Further, in the first step, the pressurized condition in a high pressuresteaming machine is not particularly limited. It is effective to use themaximum water vapor pressure which can be obtained by conducing theheating at the temperature of less than 100° C., preferably 80˜95° C.Herein, it is necessary to equip a safety pin for preventing a damage ofthe high pressure steaming machine.

In the above first step, the heating and drying can be conducted at atemperature of less than 100° C., preferably 80˜100° C., for 10˜48hours. In order to sufficiently obtain ginsenoside ingredients, it ispreferable to conduct the heating for a possible long time and thus,these are not limited only to the above range. The heating at atemperature of less than 100° C. is for the purpose of sufficientlyobtaining ginsenoside ingredients produced at a temperature of less than100° C.

2) Second Embodiment

The second embodiment of the method for producing the cultured roots ofwild ginseng according to the present invention comprises heating thecultured roots of wild ginseng under higher pressure and temperaturecondition as compared with the above mentioned first embodiment. Apreferred example thereof comprises introducing the cultured root ofdried wild ginseng or its powder in a closed high pressure steamingmachine, adding a water within a range of about 1/50˜ 1/100 of thevolume of container equipped in the above steaming machine, and thenconducting the heating at a temperature of more than 100° C. for 10˜48hours in a state of maintaining a high pressure condition (the secondstep).

The heating of the second embodiment can be conducted, for example, at atemperature of more 100° C., preferably 100˜500° C., for 10˜48 hours. Inorder to sufficiently obtain ginsenoside ingredients in the same manneras the first step, it is preferable to conduct the heating for apossible long time and thus, these are not limited only to the aboverange.

When the temperature in the closed high pressure steaming machine israised to more than 100° C., the internal pressure of the steamingmachine resulting from the water vapor pressure will also besignificantly increased. As such, the decomposition of a conventionalginsenoside and the synthesis of new ginsenoside can be significantlyincreased due to such the high pressure water vapor. Since a pressure isincreased in proportion to a temperature, the above mentioned highpressure range is not particularly limited. As one example, the highpressure range of the second embodiment is preferable that the pressureof the steam is increased as much as possible within a range capable ofstanding the container. Additionally, the production condition can beapplied identically to the above mentioned first embodiment or it can beproperly changed.

When the second embodiment is either first practiced or alone practiced,it may further comprise a third step (iii) of conducting the heating ata lower temperature range than the second embodiment, in a state ofmaintaining the high temperature/high pressure condition of the secondembodiment (ii) As one example, the heating in the above third step canbe conducted at a temperature of 90˜110° C. for 10˜48 hours.

3) Third Embodiment

The third embodiment of the method for producing the cultured roots ofwild ginseng according to the present invention comprises sequentiallyconducting the first embodiment (first step) and the second embodiment(second step). As one example, after completion of the first step, thecultured roots of wild ginseng can be produced by conducting a secondheating and drying in a state of maintaining a high pressure conditionof the first step. Alternatively, after the first step or the secondstep has been conducted in a state of maintaining the condition of thefirst step (i), the cultured roots of wild ginseng can be produced byseveral times repeatedly conducting and drying the first step, thesecond step or both the first and the second steps.

As the repeating time is increased, the kinds of effective ginsenosideingredients in the cultured root of wild ginseng and the content thereofare increased. Therefore, the repeating times or order of the abovementioned first and second steps may not be particularly limited. As oneexample, the repeating times may be 1 to 10 times.

In the first embodiment through the third embodiment according to thepresent invention, a temperature range, an amount of water added, and apressure range are not limited to the above mentioned ranges. Evenapplying to the higher temperature and pressure than the above mentionedrange during a condition of not damaging the container equipped in thehigh pressure steaming machine is included within the range of thepresent invention.

On the other hand, the present invention discloses about once practicingthe first and the second steps. If necessary, the first and the secondsteps can be repeatedly conducted more than once, for example 1˜10times. Also, properly changing the order of the first and the secondsteps depending on the desired use is included within a range of thepresent invention.

After taking the production step as mentioned above, the cultured rootsof wild ginseng show a deep purple color.

According to the present invention, when the content of saponin which isthe main ingredient of the cultured root of wild ginseng, is raised to amaximum content, it is possible include much more kinds of saponiningredients as compared with a conventional wild ginseng. The term“saponin” used in the present invention refers to ginsenoside, i.e.,ginseng saponin, unless indicated otherwise. Saponin of the other plantcan variably increase in the same manner.

Particularly, the cultured roots of wild ginseng produced according tothe present invention show ginsenoside ingredients and content behaviorswhich are different from the cultured roots of conventional wildginseng.

As one example, it can be identified that the cultured roots ofconventional wild ginseng has a high content of ginsenoside Rg1, whereasthe content of ginsenoside Rg3 and Rh2 is extremely low. In contrast,the cultured roots of wild ginseng processed according to the presentinvention do not substantially present the content of ginsenoside Rg1,and the contents of ginsenoside Rg3 and Rh2 are increased to hundreds oftimes, respectively (please refer to Table 1). These results show thatingredients contained in the cultured roots of wild ginseng and aconventional ginseng saponin can be hydrolyzed or synthesized throughthe novel production method according to the present invention tothereby increase a better quality of saponin such as new ginsenosideRh1, Rg3, Rg2 and Rh2.

Accordingly, the cultured roots of wild ginseng produced according tothe present invention are anticipated to be effectively used in thefield of a platelet aggregation inhibitory action, a cancer cell growthinhibition, a cancer metastasis inhibitory action, an anticanceractivity expansion of anticancer agent, an anti-allergic effect, ananti-inflammatory and cancer therapy, which show the efficacies ofginsenoside Rg3 and Rh2. The reason thereof is that mass production ofRg3 and Rh2 is possible.

The cultured roots of wild ginseng produced according to the presentinvention is condensed, decomposed, freeze-dried or vacuum-dried to makea powder, or can be taken in the form of a solution formed byprecipitating them in a spirit. Or it can be used as an injection or inseveral other forms. Or the powder or solution may be added to medicine,food, health supplemental and so on.

The cultured roots of wild ginseng produced according to the presentinvention can be used as a medicine for anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory,or anti-allergic therapies.

When the cultured roots of wild ginseng produced according to thepresent invention are used as a medicine for anti-cancer,anti-inflammatory, or anti-allergic therapies, they may optionallyfurther comprise conventional carriers, excipients or diluents known inthe art.

Further, the cultured roots of wild ginseng produced according to thepresent invention can be used as a supplemental health food.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT INVENTION

Hereinafter, the present invention is described in more detail withreference to examples. However, the following examples are intended toillustrate the invention, and the scope of the invention is not limitedto these examples. The examples can be properly corrected and modifiedby a person skilled in the art within the scope of the presentinvention.

Example 1 1-1. Drying of the Cultured Roots of Wild Ginseng

The cultured roots of wild ginseng were harvested and three timescleanly washed with water. They were laid with a thickness of 3˜5 cm ona dry wicker tray. The wicker tray was placed on an automatic dryer.They are dried at a temperature of 80° C. for 9 hours and processed as afine powder so that the moisture content is less than 5%.

1-2. Preparation of the Cultured Roots of Wild Ginseng

500 g of the cultured roots of wild ginseng dried in Example 1-1 wereintroduced in a pure silver container (10 l) equipped in a high pressuresteaming machine to which water of about 1/100 of the container volumewas added. A safety pin was equipped therein so that the hydrostaticpressure was not increased more than 2 bar. The first heating was thenconducted at a temperature of 95° C. for 24 hours.

Subsequently, the temperature was raised to 130° C. in a state ofmaintaining the pressure and then the second heating was conducted for24 hours. The cultured roots of heated wild ginseng were laid with athickness of 1˜2 cm on a wicker tray and then dried at a temperature of90˜100° C. for 10 hours so that a moisture content is less than 5%. Thecultured roots of wild ginseng produced from the above procedure couldbe analyzed to obtain the results as shown in Table 1 below.

Examples 2 and 3

The cultured roots of wild ginseng shown in the test reports of FIGS. 2and 3 were produced by conducting the same procedures as Example 1.

Example 4

The cultured roots of wild ginseng were produced in the same manner asExample 1 except that they were produced through the first heating anddrying steps without the second heating step.

Experimental Example 1

Comparison of saponin ingredients of the cultured roots of wild ginsengand saponin ingredients of the cultured roots of steamed wild ginseng

The ingredient analysis of the cultured roots of wild ginseng preparedin Examples 1 to 4 was conducted by the Life Science Research Center inIndustry-University Collaboration Foundation, JOONGBU University (FoodSanitation Test Organization Designation No. 38 by the Korea Ministry ofFood and Drug Safety). The analysis results of the cultured roots ofwild ginseng prepared are shown in Table 1 below.

In Examples 1 to 3, the cultured roots of wild ginseng were heated andsteamed under high temperature and high pressure conditions of the firstand second steps. In Example 4, the cultured roots of wild ginseng wereheated and steamed under a high temperature and high pressure of thefirst step by changing the conditions.

As shown in Table 1 below, the cultured roots of wild ginseng preparedin Examples 1 to 4 have various kinds of saponin ingredients in a highcontent as compared with the cultured roots of non-treated wild ginseng.Particularly, the cultured roots of wild ginseng prepared in Examples 1to 3 under the high temperature and high pressure significantly increasethe content of certain ginsenoside Rh1, Rg3, Rh2 and so on.

Accordingly, the novel method for producing the cultured roots of wildginseng according to the present invention can be usefully applied toseveral fields which require various pharmacological effects.

TABLE 1 Test items and results (mg/g) Condition Crude 1st 2nd Rg1 Rf Rg2Rh1 Rg3 Rh2 saponin step step Example 1 0 0.205 0.046 0.251 6.42 1.78750.10 ∘ ∘ cultured roots of wild ginseng Example 2 0 0.119 0.192 0.2624.07 1.233 65.1 ∘ ∘ cultured roots of wild ginseng Example 3 0.045 0.0470.104 0.134 4.77 3.466 96.5 ∘ ∘ cultured roots of wild ginseng Example 40.155 0.012 0.047 0.00 2.28 0.658 78.7 ∘ x cultured roots of wildginseng Non-treated 0.82 0.27 0.28 0.02 0.02 7.37 x X cultured roots ofwild ginseng

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for producing a cultured root of wildginseng with an increased content of ginsenoside Rg3, Rh2, Rg2 and Rh1which comprises a first step(i) of introducing a cultured root of driedwild ginseng or its powder in a closed high pressure steaming machine,adding thereto a water within a range of about 1/50˜ 1/100 of the volumeof a container equipped in the steaming machine and then conducting afirst heating at a temperature of 80˜100° C. for 10˜48 hours under ahigh pressure condition of 1.5˜2 bar.
 2. The method for producing acultured root of wild ginseng as claimed in claim 1 which furthercomprises a second step (ii) of conducting the heating and drying at atemperature of 100˜500° C. for 10˜48 hours in a state of maintaining thehigh pressure condition of the above first step(i).
 3. The method forproducing a cultured root of wild ginseng as claimed in claim 2 whichcomprises conducting the first step or the second step in a state ofmaintaining the condition of the above step (i) and then 1˜10 timesrepeatedly conducting the first step, the second step, or both the firstand second steps.
 4. A method for producing a cultured root of wildginseng with an increased content of ginsenoside Rg3, Rh2, Rg2 and Rh1which comprises 1˜10 times repeatedly conducting the steps ofintroducing a cultured root of dried wild ginseng or its powder in aclosed high pressure steaming machine, adding thereto a water within arange of about 1/50˜ 1/100 of the volume of a container equipped in thesteaming machine and then conducting the heating and drying at atemperature of 100˜500° C. for 10˜48 hours under a high pressurecondition.
 5. A cultured root of purple wild ginseng prepared by themethods defined in any of claims 1 to 4.